This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Hepatitis C affects an estimated 4 million people in the U.S., with 30,000 new cases diagnosed annually (1-3). The hepatitis C virus (HCV) ranks second behind alcoholism among the causes of liver disease and is the leading reason for liver transplants (4-6). Health experts say the number of deaths from HCV may soon surpass the number attributed to AIDS (Mayo Clinic, Dec. 12, 1998). In fact, hepatitis C might be the most common cause of primary liver cancer in the developed world. In Italy, Spain, and Japan, at least half of liver cancers could be related to HCV (7). Chronic hepatitis C can cause cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer (8). About 20 percent of patients develop cirrhosis within 10 to 20 years of the onset of infection (9). Men, alcoholics, patients with cirrhosis, people over age 40, and those infected for 20 to 40 years are more likely to develop HCV-related liver cancer (7).